Day 149 Cheticamp Cape Breton Is NS

Sep 8, 2008

This morning we were all up bright and early and got away a little after 8am, we had a fair drive to get under our belts today if we want any chance of catching the Wednesday morning ferry to Newfoundland. It was a clear morning with a beautiful sunrise and barely a cloud in the sky. However, this proved to be short lives, as the big black clouds rolled in and of course the rain hit again. When the weather’s like that there is no point in driving the scenic route, we just stuck to the freeway and by morning tea we were on Cape Breton Island. We stopped at the info centre and pick up a bit more information on Breton Island and the Cabot Trail.

Driving up the Ceilidh Trail along the west coast thru Port Hood we passed through the rolling coastal hills with stunning seascapes around every bend. Then a short distance past Mabou the boys read that there was a Whisky distillery there, this of course meant it was a sure thing we would have a wee stop here, just to check it out of course. The Glenora Distillery claims to be the only single-malt whisky distillery in North America. Its heritage is closely linked with that of Scotland.

The tour only cost $7 so we all went… wrong choice, the guide was so boring, he almost recited his story – it was all written on the walls so we could have just read it. Denise and I were going to sneak back to the RV’s, but with the promise of a sample at the end, knowing the lads were relying on our samples too, we stuck it out.

From this point we officially started the Cabot Trail and our final stop for the day is at Cheticamp. This is a busy fishing village with a thriving Acadian culture with a strong influence of French. In the visitor’s centre we heard the assistant speaking French on camped on Cheticamp Island camp ground.

The drive tomorrow will take us around the northern tip of Cape Breton Island, which we hear is the summer feeding ground for pilot and fin whales – it would be a nice bonus to see some on our drive.